The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been preparing for what may be a more difficult open enrollment period, as penalty fees increase to new highs.

Ahead of the next open enrollment period, which officially runs from Nov. 1 until Jan. 31, 2016, HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell revealed 10.5 million Americans are still uninsured but currently eligible for the Health Insurance Marketplaces, which include federal health exchanges and the state-level marketplace. Burwell said 17.6 million Americans have gained health coverage since the ACA's first provisions were implemented in 2010.

Now heading into its third open enrollment year, the HHS secretary said the remaining uninsured population "is harder to reach." According to Burwell, approximately 40 percent of the uninsured population is living between 139 percent and 250 percent of the poverty level, or $30,000 to $60,000 for a family of four. She said more than a third are people of color, including 19 percent of Latinos, 14 percent of blacks and 2 percent of Asians.

Burwell projected between 2.8 million to 3.9 million of the uninsured population will eventually enroll in the marketplace during the third enrollment period.

"But while our audiences may be harder to reach, we're working smarter to reach them. The remaining uninsured population is younger, more likely to be male, and tend not to know enough about the Marketplace and the financial help that's available. So we're targeting our outreach and our messaging to make sure we get people the information they need to make the right decision for their families," Burwell said in prepared remarks on Thursday morning

The HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) released demographics about the uninsured population. In a copy Latin Post obtained, of the 10.5 million eligible for qualified health plans (QHP), nearly half are within the millennial age group -- or between the ages of 18 and 34. Within the Latino community, more men are likely to be uninsured than women.

The ASPE report also disclosed the uninsured population do risk higher penalties in 2016 compared to previous years. HHS said uninsured individuals "may be more inclined to enroll in coverage" as a result of the tax penalty, which is the larger amount between an individual's 2.5 percent yearly income or $695, per person -- although the fine is $347.50 per child under 18 years old. 

On a positive note, Burwell said there are fewer uninsured Americans to sign up, as the ACA has helped the largest decrease in the uninsured rate in decades.

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